Copperpod
- Aug 31, 2022
- 5 min read

Marvel's Upcoming Projects: an IP Perspective

Disney has registered for a variety of titles that appear to be for its next Marvel films in a series of unearthed trademark applications. This year, Marvel Studios will attend San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC), and fans anticipate the company to make some news about the impending Phase 5. Fans are more interested in learning about the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The title itself is intriguing enough to entice viewers to go through this article. Internet surfers caught Marvel Studios' filing for European copyright on Reddit and Twitter. Why does this matter? Are these meant for films or TV? Or game consoles? There are too many speculations! But hey! Wait. If you don't know what we are talking about, here is a little background for you.

What are Marvel Studio and the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

A subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios and a division of the Walt Disney Business, Marvel Studios LLC is an American film and television production company. It was previously known as Marvel Films. A group of American superhero movies created by Marvel Studios called the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) are based on Marvel Comics characters. The shared universe in which all the movies are set is known as the MCU. This universe is home to many Marvel superheroes and super villains.

The Marvel Universe is heavily inspired by reality. In the Marvel Universe, Earth has all the characteristics of the real Earth: the same nations, the same people, the same historical occurrences, etc. However, it also contains many other fictional elements, including the very small nations of Wakanda and Latveria, as well as the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D. and its adversaries HYDRA and A.I.M.

Marvel Studio’s Marvels!

Marvel Studios began making the movies in 2007, and since then, 29 of them have been made, with at least 14 more in various stages of development. Apart from this, it has released eight television shows. The studio's debut animation project is the television series What If...? (2021). Along with the studio's One-Shots, these movies and television shows all have continuity with one another.

Marvel Studios' Intellectual Property

Given its budget, creation capability and continuity, Marvel Studios take its intellectual property protection very seriously. They own the copyright of every bit and piece they have made to date. They also have their own line of merchandise based on the characters, phrases and creatives. They also have many trademarks to their credit.

Out of the numerous trademarks, 59.95% are registered which is quite a decent figure thanks to the frequency and consistency of the franchise in bringing out new master-pieces every now and then! However, as many as 14.75% trademarks are still in the process and not yet have been registered.

How much of a Marvel Fan are you?

Let’s give it a shot! Try and remember which ones of these trademarks are you familiar with.

TRADEMARK	TRADEMARK OFFICE	TRADEMARK STATUS	APPLICATION DATE
Avengers Eternity Wars	EUIPO	FILED	22/07/2022
Captain America: Red White And Black	EUIPO	FILED	22/07/2022
Nomad	USPTO	FILED	09/12/2020
Celestials: End of Time	EUIPO	FILED	22/07/2022
Eternity Saga	EUIPO	FILED	22/07/2022
Avengers Excursion	EUIPO	FILED	22/07/2022
Avengers Timeless	EUIPO	FILED	22/07/2022
Avengers Academy	EUIPO	FILED	22/07/2022
Timeless Saga	EUIPO	FILED	23/07/2022
Hercules: Rise or the Gods	EUIPO	FILED	22/07/2022
Sam Wilson Captain America	EUIPO	FILED	22/07/2022
The Black Knight: Origins	EUIPO	FILED	23/07/2022
Shang-Chi and the Wreckage of Time	EUIPO	FILED	23/07/2022
Runaways: New Era	EUIPO	FILED	23/07/2022
Red Guardian: Generations	EUIPO	FILED	23/07/2022
Midnight Sons	EUIPO	FILED	23/07/2022

The trademarks seem to show a pattern of registration with the word marks being filed the most as most of the characters are named and have a distinct identity of their own.

Now that you have a clear picture, it would make sense to delve in deeper!

Marvel's Upcoming Projects

Disney has registered for a variety of titles that appear to be for its next Marvel films in a series of unearthed trademark applications. This year, Marvel Studios will attend San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC), and fans anticipate the company to make some news about the impending Phase 5. Fans are more interested in learning about the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

One of the most significant figures in the Marvel universe and widely regarded as the series' greatest antagonist is Doctor Doom. It's very likely that Marvel Studios will reveal their Doctor Doom project during SDCC if they are indeed working on one at the moment. And given that they have already registered a trademark for a Kang project, fans are left wondering who the MCU's next major threat will be. Who will succeed Thanos in power?

All of it began when it was discovered that Marvel had registered trademarks for Thunderbolts, Captain America: New World Order, Multiverse Saga, and Avengers: Secret Wars.

Even while it's odd that each and every one of the titles pertains to a project whose live-action adaptation we are aware of, it might just as easily be a comic book. But since the MCU excels in passionate speculating, you can only imagine the responses when additional TM filings were found and uploaded on Reddit. These Marvel titles might also be connected to works in other genres, such as video games or theme park attractions. Each seems intriguing; perhaps Marvel Studios will soon reveal these games in Hall H, but only time shall tell.

Here Are Our Top 5 Expectations for the Marvel Studios panel at SDCC

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

The most likely prediction and possibly the most significant one includes Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which is scheduled for publication in November. One of Marvel's biggest successes in 2018 was Black Panther, which not only shattered box office records but also demonstrated that mainstream superhero movies are capable of delving into heavy subjects. The loss of the lead actor Chadwick Boseman and issues resulting from Letitia Wright's anti-vax stance, however, have marred the sequel.

The Fantastic Four and X-Men

It might be Kevin Feige's moment to use his trump card and debut some eagerly anticipated characters as a result of the slight decline in Marvel's popularity. Despite being essential elements of the Marvel comics universe, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four have not fared as well on screen. The majority of fans were thrilled that Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox would enable Feige to offer us accurate representations of the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and antagonists Dr Doom and Galactus, despite some fans raising worries about Disney's monopoly.

Blade

This year, hopefully, Blade, starring Mahershala Ali, will finally get some air. Could the daughter of Blade finally be introduced in this film? Tim Seely was revealed to be the author of a comic book about Blade's Daughter years ago. Fans wanted to see her in cinema and in comic book pages, but that never happened. The latter finally came true this year in the pages of the Free Comic Book Day 2022 Avengers X-Men Eternals: Judgment Day #1.

Cast of Wonderman

Marvel Studios is producing a Wonder Man show for Disney+, as was previously disclosed. We don't anticipate hearing much about this show just yet because it is most likely in the very early stages of creation. But even if we only learned who was playing Simon Williams, a superhero who became a Hollywood actor, that would be fantastic. Fans would undoubtedly be quite thrilled if the casting is excellent, and we might definitely place this at the top of our list of "most anticipated Marvel projects."

Deadpool 3

Then there is Deadpool 3. Although filming on this one has not yet begun, fans are eager to learn more about Wade Wilson's first MCU adventure. Not to mention, it's the first ever R-rated MCU product. Any information about Ryan Reynolds' potential return to the role of the Merc with the Mouth would be a wonderfully welcome surprise.

Further, Majors' identity as Kang is most likely to be revealed, as the introduction of a villain akin to Thanos will help Phase 4 gain coherence after feeling disjointed to many fans. We may learn more about what happened to Kamala at the end of her series and Monica Rambeau's location, given the popularity of Ms Marvel and the fact that The Marvels was initially scheduled for a 2022 release.

Conclusion

Marvel Studios is back at Comic-Con in San Diego after a three-year absence. When Kevin Feige last appeared on stage at SDCC, he announced a number of films and TV shows for Disney+ as part of a very spectacular Phase Four slate presentation. We can't say anything with certainty just yet, but whatever it is, it all seems fantastic, and we can't wait for this to come together.